Monday, October 15, 2007

The Staff Sergeant Shawn A. Graham Veterans Memorial Bridge will be dedicated on November 10 at 10:00 am. Several speakers, a ribbon cutting, and an appearance by the Patriot Guard Riders will highlight the ceremony.

The bridge was renamed by Mercer County Commissioners in April to honor Graham, a 1989 graduate of Grove City Area High School. Graham left the area to join the Marines and was killed in Iraq while serving with the Army National Guard 124th Cavalry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division.

The ceremony is open to the public.

Speakers include State Representative Dick Stevenson, Mayor Randy Riddle, Borough Council President George Pokrant, Councilman Rich Talbert, members of the Graham family, and military personnel who served with Graham.

The Patriot Guard Riders is a national group that attends memorial functions to show respect to fallen service persons, their families, and their communities.

The Staff Sergeant Shawn A. Graham Veterans Memorial Bridge will open for traffic in mid-November.

As work is completed on the Staff Sergeant Shawn A. Graham Veterans Memorial Bridge, the Memorial Walk project is now hitting its stride. Planners are seeking names of fallen soldiers from the area.

The bridge was renamed by Mercer County Commissioners in April to reflect the wishes of Borough Council and the Graham family, who initially made the request. The idea of a Memorial Walk arose during discussions of how to honor fallen service members from Grove City.

“We wanted a fitting way to honor residents who paid the ultimate price for our freedoms,” said Councilman Rich Talbert. Talbert is part of a group of planners that includes local politicians and military families. “We decided that it would be special to collect names and have a couple large plaques created to affix to the bridge along the sidewalk.”

Planners soon realized that the task was difficult. “There are many sources that have names of Grove City residents who have served,” noted Talbert, “but there are very few that have the names of those who died while serving. On top of that, most records are listed by county, not by town.”

Planners are seeking help from residents, so a Web site has been created to help collect names. “If anyone has names of Grove City residents who have died while serving, we’re asking them to visit grahambridge.blogspot.com,” Talbert said. “Visitors to the site can leave a comment with the name of the service person.”

The planners will be collecting names until late winter, when they will finalize the list and order the plaques. “We want to make sure we take enough time to get a complete list,” said Talbert. “We want to make sure all who have sacrificed everything are honored.”